"It's a tam-o'-shanter," said Lance. "Another idea of the tailor's.
That tailor, I think, tries things out on Pretty. If Pretty doesn't
get shot wearing them, then he puts similar garments on his dummies
and risks them outside his shop door."

"But what has he got stuck into the cap?" pursued Laura.

"A feather. Rather, the remains of one," chuckled Lance. "It was quite
a long one when he started for the dock this morning; but he crossed
the street right under the noses of Si Cumming's team of mules that
draws the ice-wagon, and that off mule grabbed the best part of the
feather. You know, that mule will eat anything."

"Well, one thing is sure," drawled Bobby. "If Purt is supposed to
represent a Sherwood Forest outlaw, and he ever meets one of the
outlaws of the Big Woods that he's been worried about, the latter
'squashbuckler' will be scared to death."

"'Squashbuckler' is good!" chuckled Jess. "Some of those old villains
I expect _were_ squashes."

"My dear!" ejaculated her mother. "I fear the language you young folk
use does not speak well for your instructors of Central High."

"I guess we do not cast much glory upon our teachers, Mrs. Morse,"
rejoined Laura, laughing.

"It's only Short and Long, here, who 'does the teachers proud,'" said
her brother, with a grin. "Hear about what he got off in Ancient
History class the other day? Professor Dimp pretty nearly set him back
for _that_."

"Aw--now," growled Billy. "He asked for a date, didn't he?"

"What's the burn?" demanded Bobby, briskly.

"Why, Old Dimple asked Billy to mention a memorable date in Roman
history, and Billy says: 'Antony's with Cleopatra.'"

"Oh, oh, oh!" gasped Jess. "That's the worst kind of slang."

Mrs. Morse paid the young folk very little attention. She had
withdrawn from the group and was busy with pencil and notebook.

"When mother gets to work that way, she heeds neither time, place, nor
any passing event," laughed Jess. "She expects to sketch out her
whole book while she is at camp with us."

"She's going to be a dandy chaperone," declared Chet. "Suppose we'd
had Miss Carrington along?"

"Goodness!" groaned Bobby. "Don't let's mention that lady again this
summer."

"And we can cut out Old Dimple, too," grumbled Billy Long.

"He's off somewhere on a trip, so we won't have to bother about him,"
said Chet, with confidence.

The girls had begun to compare notes regarding what they had packed in
their suitcases, long befo